Relationship Economics® Newsletter
The Nour Group, Inc. | February 2007
What are you working on Big ?
You're a month into the new year already - will you waste the year on the mundane and the ordinary? December will be here before you know it - will you ask yourself, what did I dream, work towards or achieve this past year?
A lot of people go through the vibration of the day without any focus on the forward motion part! We all get so busy with the urgent that we often forget the important! I have to finish this project, recruit that person, work on this strategy and that new market - many of which will eventually work themselves out anyway. What can you work on that's bigger than life? What is on your radar that is the next market maker? What will take every ounce of your being to get you, your team and organization there? What have you researched and analyzed, know in your heart and mind and are so passionate about that you can marshal the entire company behind to go achieve?
So, I ask you again - what are you working on big?
David
Strategic Relationships Ignored
There are fundamentally three types of relationships: functional, personal, and strategic.
Functional is the easiest for most - it's what you build at work to perform your daily functions. It's comprised of peers, subordinates, and superiors; it's your interaction with customers and suppliers distinctly focused on getting immediate tasks at hand completed. The members are often mandated by your function, job description, and key corporate initiatives often driven by others. You build relationships here with those who can support your efforts or overcome obstacles. Although practical for the time being, it has little foresight and it tends to keep us busy with the urgent task on our "to-do" lists.
The second is your personal relationships - at home, at kids' soccer or school, and amongst your favorite charity friends. These are people who like you for who you are; a fairly safe environment to expose personal challenges and seek insights. The obstacle for many is the inability to link personal relationships to overcoming corporate leadership challenges.
The last are your strategic relationships, which is unfortunately the ones most often ignored. Beyond the functional and personal ones, these relationships elevate you efforts and thinking beyond your current realm of responsibilities and push you to think about new business opportunities and key stakeholders you'll need to succeed. Strategic relationships transcend across time, function, and geographic limitations. They create accelerated access, long-term personal and professional growth opportunities, new market insights, and shed light on Return on Influence vs. concerns about corporate "politics"!
What are you doing to identify, build, nurture and quantify your strategic relationships?
Click here for David Nour's Recent Presentation
Enough promises, enough excuses, enough suffering...
Last fall at the Society of International Business Fellows’ Annual Summit in Chicago, I heard a novel idea: do you believe economic development would end the conflict between the Israelis and Palestinians? Would meaningful employment and sustainable income create prosperity for peace – not just for the current generation, but for children entering this world amidst check points, dividing walls and bombings? Because the conflict is not between Palestinians and Israelis but rather between moderates on both sides against violent extremists who seek to create havoc.
This past January 25th, Professor Klaus Schwab, Founder and Executive Chairman of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland introduced the next session by explaining, "I have the privilege to share this key session, if not the most important, at this year's meeting." He added, "We thought we should give voice to the ordinary people and you should listen."
In its basic form, Relationship Economics® is the outcome from the transformation of an organization’s most valuable business relationships into quantifiable performance, execution and results. OneVoice is amazingly doing just that – it certainly puts what we think is important in our daily functions in a new perspective. Watch this powerful video, and ask yourself: “What are you willing to do?”
Read the OneVoice Press Release
Who Moved My Career Cheese
By Jim Deupree, Managing Director - DBM ICEO
Most senior executives are part of a rapidly developing conflict. On one side is how long we intend to work, and giving meaning to our life becoming more important because we plan to work longer. On the other side are that jobs have a shorter and shorter duration for a myriad of reasons, and the persistent shift in company ownership to Private Equity Groups.
Historically we have been reactive regarding our careers – reacting to offers received, and reacting to jobs ending. We have typically had goals – but not really a proactive career management strategy. So we may intend to work longer – but will it be possible, and fulfilling, without changing one’s approach? Our cheese has moved – and we need to think about it before it is too late – and decide whether to change our approach.
Our intention to work longer is typically driven by four forces:
- Our mind is a great asset. It is healthy to keep our mind engaged, and we want to anyway. Problem solving on meaningful issues is more fun than retirement games.
- Applause. We work in part for appreciation of what we do for people, problems we solve and things we build – and we are not ready for the applause to stop.
- Asset preservation. Very few of us have traditional pensions. It was fun to start a pension, but is not fun to start drawing from savings. So we want to defer that need for a while longer.
- Too busy to develop other interests. The pressures of the work place over the past ten years have left precious little discretionary time. As a result fewer executives have developed engaging outside interests to replace involvement in work.
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Jim Deupree is Managing Director of the International Center for Executive Options. The Center works with C-suite executives in transition, or those currently employed, to understand and choose their options then proactively make their choice happen.
